County opens discussions regarding rural nursing education program
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wheatland County council will soon discuss the potential to provide funding to assist a Grow Your Own Rural Nursing Program and Simulation Lab in Drumheller.
During a meeting of the Public Presentation Committee, Aug. 19, representatives from the Drumheller Area Health Foundation (DAHF) presented before the county to discuss the program.
“In March of this year, AHS approached the [DAHF] board with an exciting program aimed at addressing critical nursing shortages in rural Alberta … it is a rural nursing program and it will require a simulation lab to be built to work in tandem with this program,” said Ashley Berlando, speaking on behalf of the DAHF. “It is a partnership between Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the University of Calgary. It will allow rural residents within 100 km of the Drumheller area to receive their Bachelor of Science and Nursing at the Drumheller Health Center, and a lot of it will be done online.”
She added much of the second year of instruction through the program will take place in person at the Drumheller Hospital – thus, the requirement for the construction of the simulation lab.
Students will be intended to utilize the simulation lab to combine their online learning with in-person labs. Infrequently, students will also be required to travel to the University of Calgary campus for labs.
The course can be condensed from a traditional four-year program into a just over three-year run in order to help reduce financial burdens on students and their families.
“There are two [Grow Your Own] programs in the Central Zone and we will be the third one to roll out. They have cohorts of eight to nine students per term,” said Berlando.
“The main aim of this program is to reduce nursing shortages in rural areas. By training local residents to become nurses, it ensures they stay and work in the area that they were trained in.”
Because of the proximity to Calgary, the selection pool for this program is approximately 100 kilometers from the Drumheller area.
The other two rural Grow Your Own nursing programs are currently based out of Wainwright, which began in 2021 and is seeing their first set of graduates this year, and Drayton Valley, which will be officially rolled out this fall.
“AHS approached us to fundraise for the creation and retrofitting of the simulation lab at the hospital. The quote … is to be at a maximum of $300,000. The simulation lab equipment – about $60,000 to $80,000 of equipment, will be provided by the University of Calgary,” said Berlando. “AHS will see to the maintenance, repair, and replacement of all the equipment in the lab.”
The DAHF is looking to be able to have the required $300,000 raised by early 2027 in order to move forward with creating the lab and establishing the program.
Berlando suggested to the county the idea of potentially establishing a grant in the realm of $10,000 and extending the same conversation to municipalities within the 100 km onboarding range.
“This is a really exciting initiative, and I think it is not only creating that opportunity for local residents who are interested in pursuing a healthcare career and removing some of the barriers for that, but the simulation lab will also strengthen rural healthcare through all of the mechanisms outlined,” said Reeve Amber Link.
As the Public presentation committee is not able to formalize decisions, they voted to have the matter appear before council at a later meeting.